No one else can prove they have a genuine RAW cacao powder. We traveled to Bali to film every phase of production, from farm to extraction point, and verified process temperatures at each stage for you.

Beyond Sustainable: Wild-harvested in the truly sustainable, biodiverse food-forests of Bali. The purchase of this product preserves rainforest and protects the soil

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Source & Process

Purity from the source

This cacao is cultivated in pristine forests of Bali, Indonesia by small family farmers whose ecological techniques help revitalize soil & water while protecting wildlife habitat. Your purchase of this product directly contributes to increasing the quality of life for these small organic farmers, since we pay beyond-Fair-Trade prices to guarantee you the purest, finest cacao available!

Raw Cacao Beans

Food of the Gods

Revered by ancient cultures as the food of the gods, Cacao was once traded as currency. Today, science is catching up with the ancients: these sugarless treats provide more cell-protecting antioxidants than any food on earth! Plus they contain mood-boosting phytochemicals (including theobromine and anandamide) and they provide some of the same molecules your brain produces when you're happy or in love.

Purity

Cacao Powder is made by cold-pressing cacao butter from the beans, cutting down on fat calories while still giving you all of cacao's vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants.

When we first pioneered RAW cacao and chocolate 10 years ago, our primary concern was microbial purity. Traditionally, since the cacao destined for chocolate production is cooked and heavily processed, fresh cacao beans were fermented in the open jungle, with little concern for purity. For this reason, when we pioneered RAW cacao, we had to develop pristine fermentation techniques and facilities. The explosive popularity of RAW cacao led to many copycats selling cacao that was contaminated with mold, yeast, and bacteria. As always, we use careful processing and lab testing to guarantee that our cacao is 100% free of pathogens like E. coli, staph, and salmonella.

fresh cacao beans

fresh cacao pod

Beyond Fair-Trade

Other suppliers CLAIM their product is RAW, but we have actually verified the temperatures of our process with video evidence. Every single cacao bean used to produce this powder is grown by a cooperative of over 3,000 small farmers in Bali, who wild-harvest cacao pods from their own certified Organic food-forests. Produced with safety in mind at every step, cacao beans from freshly split pods are fermented under control at 104 F and then washed in potable water before being solar-dried and pressed in custom equipment that never exceeds 118 F.

Purity

When we first pioneered RAW chocolate 10 years ago, our primary concern was microbial purity. Traditionally, since the cacao destined for chocolate production is cooked and heavily processed, fresh cacao beans were fermented in the open jungle, with little concern for purity. For this reason, when we pioneered RAW cacao, we had to develop pristine fermentation techniques and facilities. The explosive popularity of RAW cacao led to many copycats selling cacao that was contaminated with mold, yeast, and bacteria. As always, we use careful processing and lab testing to guarantee that our cacao is 100% free of pathogens like E. coli, staph, and salmonella.

fair trade cacao

organic cacao beans

Low-Temp Process

Cacao beans from freshly split pods are fermented under control at 40°C / 104°F and then washed in potable water before being solar-dried.

The beans are machine "cracked" into nibs, and the papery skins are separated from the nibs simply by fan power.

The nibs are then fed into a hydraulic press that squeezes them, pressing out the buttery golden oil. After pressing the butter from the nibs, the concentrated cake left behind is low in fat (about 22%, while our Peruvian cacao powder is about 11%).

The cacao cake is then cold-milled to a powder and then fine sieved for use as cacao powder.

Never contaminated by clarifying chemicals or solvents, it retains high levels of nutrients and antioxidants. Prior to final packing, every lot of cacao is tested at an independent lab for a full microbial analysis.

The Ripple Effect

You are powerful

This product is your vote for a better world. Across the planet, we seek the finest superfoods and pay a premium for the exceptional craftsmanship of small farmers, cooperatives, and indigenous communities. We also give back 1% to local non-profits like Amazon Watch, who protect the land and the communities who depend on it.

Every Product has an origin

and an impact

You stand at the finish line of an amazing journey with a miraculous beginning: Soil, Water, Sunshine...and Seed. With care and craftsmanship, Life unfolds, blossoms, and thrives. No chemicals needed. Just skill, hard work, and love for the land.

Every point on this map is a place that you touch. A farm. A community. An economy. An ecosystem.

Cacao Powder Nutrition Facts

Theobroma cacao L, Criollo

You've heard about the amazing health benefits of dark chocolate. Study after study is revealing that chocolate is an incredible source of very specific antioxidants that support human health in everything from cardiovascular function to brain function and longevity. It's also loaded with vital minerals, healthy fats, and mood-boosting phytochemicals.

Possibly one of the world’s most powerful health foods, incredibly rich in antioxidants.

Rich in mental-sharpeners: Magnesium and Epicatechin

Source of natural mood-boosters: Theobromine and Anandamide

Top source of magnesium, which balances brain chemistry, is associated with elevated levels of happiness, and is crucial for heart and muscle function, healthy elimination, strong bones.

Antioxidants

Since it is processed much less, RAW cacao has even more antioxidants than regular dark chocolate. In fact, according to the USDA, cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates, and goji berries combined! The following comparison shows the unique antioxidant density of RAW cacao compared to roasted cacao and other high antioxidant foods:

What kind of antioxidants does cacao contain? It provides a wide variety: polyphenols, catechins, and epicatechins. The health benefits of these antioxidants are well-studied and range from increasing blood flow to the brain (enhancing brain health and protecting against stroke) to inhibiting cholesterol plaque buildup in the arteries, to fighting unfriendly bacteria in the digestive system, to fighting the free-radicals produced by everything from smoking to intense exercise.

Epicatechin

Epicatechin: Cacao's antioxidants do more than just protect your cells from free-radicals. Epicatechin (an antioxidant also found, in lesser quantities, in green tea) actually seems to activate the cardiovascular system. Especially when combined with exercise, epicatechin seems to trigger the body to form new capillaries that feed muscles and brain tissue while also increasing production of mitochondria, the cellular powerhouse. This is all in addition to working to neutralize the free-radicals that build up in the body from chemical stressors such as exercise, smoking, or the effects of emotional stress. Epicatechin and other antioxidants in cacao are suspected to be the primary factor in the unusual health of the Kuna people of Panama, who drink 6 cups of fresh local cacao every day...and live well into old age with far fewer cases of stroke, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and heart disease.

Vitamins & Minerals

Magnesium: Cacao may be the richest food source of magnesium on earth. Magnesium is an alkaline mineral necessary for heart and muscle function, for arterial relaxation, and for proper mental focus. Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and has been linked to increased happiness and improved mood—it even relieve constipation. Some research suggests that magnesium and several other nutrients in cacao can smooth out the symptoms of PMS (perhaps explaining the craving for chocolate during a woman's lunar cycle?). Unfortunately, more than 80% of Americans suffer from magnesium deficiency!

Iron: Just one ounce of cacao supplies three times the US RDA of iron. Iron is a crucial component of the cardiovascular system, allowing red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to every single cell in the body. Iron is also a crucial component in the body's manufacturing of enzymes and is used as an intracellular energy transporter.

Zinc: Zinc is vital to a healthy immune system, liver, pancreas, and skin, and it is crucial in sexual development, fertility, and cell growth. It is also a central building block in hundreds of enzymes throughout the body.

Manganese: Central to building bone, cartilage, and connective tissue, manganese also helps iron to oxygenate the blood.

Copper: Another blood-building mineral along with manganese and iron. Not only is it antimicrobial, copper is also important to digestion and our body's lymph system.

Cacao also provides small amounts of vitamin K and vitamin E in their whole, untreated form.

Phytochemicals

In addition to these vital nutrients, cacao also supplies a variety of mood-boosting phytochemicals that make it perfect for everything from increasing energy levels to improving overall sense of well-being.

Theobromine: Cacao contains about 1% theobromine by weight. Theobromine is also found in tea, and is similar to caffeine, but much smoother, increasing vasodilation throughout the cardiovascular system. This, in combination with the effects of epicatechin, can contribute to everything from increased endurance to a greater sense of health or energy. In the actual cacao bean, theobromine plays a role as an anti-bacterial shield, which is coincidentally effective against Streptococci mutans, the bacteria that causes cavities.

Tryptophan: This essential amino acid is the precursor to the important neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin, leading to feelings of relaxation after consumption. Since tryptophan often breaks down when heated, RAW cacao is likely a much better source of tryptophan.

Anandamide: "Ananda" means bliss, and anandamide is the body's own bliss molecule, responsible for the infamous "runner's high" (not, in fact, endorphins). Not only does cacao contain anandamide, it also contains an enzyme inhibitor that slows the breakdown of anandamide, keeping it flowing through body and brain for much longer—increasing endurance and feelings of well-being.

Phenethylamine: Commonly known as the "love drug," Phenethylamine (PEA) is one of many chemicals associated with feelings of love, excitement, focus and attention (perhaps explaining the connection of chocolate and romance).

Serotonin: Cacao also causes the brain to increase levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, the crucial chemical messenger used by the brain to regulate everything from mood to appetite to sex drive (and is the reason depressed patients are prescribed drugs that preserve serotonin in the brain).

Fatty Acid Content

Saturated fats are often believed to have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, but although cacao contains saturated fat, it doesn't fit this generalization. Experiments have shown that cacao butter consumption does not increase levels of total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol (Kris-Etherton et al., 1994).

This probably has to do with cacao's unique fatty acid profile, which is predominantly stearic acid (34%) and oleic acid (35%). Although Stearic acid is a saturated fat, it has been shown to have no impact on levels of blood cholesterol (Kris-Etherton, 1997). Oleic acid is the monounsaturated fatty acid that makes olive oil a uniquely heart-healthy vegetable oil. Research has long been clear about the benefits of oleic acid for proper balance of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol in the body, but Oleic acid may also be responsible for the hypotensive (blood pressure reducing) effects of olive oil by changing signaling patterns at the cell membrane level. Oleic acid also keeps cell membranes soft and fluid, allowing helpful anti- inflammatory substances like omega-3 fatty acid to penetrate the cell membrane more easily. At about 70% of cacao's total fat content, the dynamic duo of Oleic and Stearic acids goes a long way to explain the lack of negative cardiovascular effects from consumption of cacao and cacao butter.

At 26%, the number three fatty acid in cacao is Palmitic acid, a saturated fat. Although some research has created a scare around negative health effects of palmitic acid (comparing it to trans fats for a negative impact on insulin), these studies involved diets based exclusively on palmitic acid, without any other fats consumed. A Canadian study (French et all, 2002) showed that high consumption of palmitic acid does not raise cholesterol as long as linoleic acid is also being consumed. On the other hand, combining palmitic acid with trans-fats definitely had a negative effect on LDL/HDL cholesterol ratios. Coincidentally, nature's wisdom has endowed cacao with the perfect balance of both Palmitic and Linoleic acids.

Oxidation

Cacao's combination of potent antioxidants and protective saturated fats helps to protect against spoilage and rancidity. When protected from light, air, and heat, cacao is very stable and can last for several months (about 6 if refrigerated or 3 in your cupboards).

California Prop 65 Warning

For strictly legal reasons, this product is labeled with a scary-looking warning required by California’s Proposition 65. These products comply with all health and safety standards of the FDA, USDA Organic, and our various certification partners (Non-GMO, Gluten Free, and Kosher), and we personally trust and consume these products every day. However, like many berries, root vegetables, and chocolate products, this one contain trace quantities of naturally-occurring minerals in perfectly safe quantities. Nevertheless, we are required to label the package in order to sell product in California.

Please do not be alarmed by the warning sticker, and understand that a “Proposition 65 warning does not necessarily mean a product is in violation of any product-safety standards or requirements.” Prop 65 is impacting more and more suppliers and retailers (including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s) and soon these labels will be on many natural food products throughout California and across the country.

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